Surveys Across Multiple Countries Show Gap Between Teacher AI Use and AI Readiness

Ahead of Teachers' Day, ETEducation spoke with experts from Central Square Foundation, Bharti Airtel Foundation, STTAR, CENTA, Azim Premji University and NIEPA about the gap between AI awareness, capability and classroom readiness. CENTA's AI Readiness survey across 16 countries in Asia and Africa found 98% said AI readiness is important for teachers and schools, but only 23% could identify even one AI-ready teacher or school. In Bharti Airtel Foundation's survey, 83.2% of teachers had used AI, with 34.5% using it regularly and 42.4% occasionally while verifying outputs. In CSF's BaSE 2025 survey, 51% of EdTech-using teachers had received technology training, but only 9% said it covered AI tools, and 79% wanted more technology training.

These figures shift the key constraint in AI education from tool access to teacher capability definitions and training content. If training covers only tool operation without addressing when to use, question or avoid AI, schools scaling AI adoption may struggle to ensure quality of pedagogical judgement. CENTA's forthcoming Education AI Readiness Index attempts to move readiness beyond adoption rates to the competencies students need, the competencies teachers need to develop those capabilities, and how teachers themselves can use AI effectively. The surveys were conducted by different organizations with different scopes; the original text explicitly states the figures are not directly comparable, and adoption alone cannot answer whether the tools improve learning. Teacher training content needs to expand from tool operation to AI use judgement and pedagogical purpose, otherwise the structural gap of only 9% of the 51% trained teachers covering AI tools will persist. Schools and product providers need a verifiable capability framework when assessing AI readiness; CENTA's Education AI Readiness Index offers a direction from adoption rates toward capability assessment.